Eighteen cases of new Omicron subvariant XBB found in Maharashtra

Pune district, which has recorded the highest number of Covid cases in the state during the pandemic, has also reported one case each of the BQ.1 and BA.2.3.20 sub-variants between September 24 and October 11. The BQ.1 patient had a mild infection and a history of travel to the US said the officials.

Updated On Oct 20, 2022 at 11:08 AM IST

Mumbai: Eighteen cases of the new highly infectious Omicron subvariant, XBB, have been detected in Maharashtra in the last 15 days, said the state public health department on Wednesday.

"While 13 of these cases are from Pune, two each from Nagpur and Thane and one from Akola,'' said a press release on the latest results of genome sequencing tests carried out in special laboratories across the state.

Pune district, which has recorded the highest number of Covid cases in the state during the pandemic, has also reported one case each of the BQ.1 and BA.2.3.20 sub-variants between September 24 and October 11. The BQ.1 patient had mild infection and a history of travel to the US, said the officials.

"Epidemiological information of all these cases is being collected and as per the primary information all these cases are of mild nature,'' said the release, adding that 15 out of these 20 cases were vaccinated.

The new sub-variants are behind recent spurt in cases in the West and are considered "dangerous" because they can escape the vaccine-related antibodies.

A Mumbai doctor said, "The new variants are quite different from the original Wuhan virus and are causing disease that is different. Only time will tell whether they are as dangerous." The only 'vaccine' that could work against all variants is a mask. "People should not stop using the mask. It has consistently worked against Covid."